Hi, I am 7 weeks pregnant and am weighing up the feeding options when the time comes.

Ideally i would like to bottlefeed, not that i have anything against breastfeeding i just think that it will work better for me and i really like the idea of hubby being able to feed too so he can bond with the baby.

Just wondered which formula you think is best and the closest to breast milk?

Also what was your midwife/antenatal classes like when you told them you would prefer to bottle feed? Were they dead against it and try and make you change your mind?

What are your reasons for bottlefeeding?

Your opinions and advice would be great!

Lottie x

Hi there i bottle fed both mine from both, purely because i didnt want to breastfeed. Like you i am not opposed to breastfeeding, just wasnt the choice for us. Midwives offered me breastfeeding leaflets etc which i politely declined and gave back. I never got any hassle about not breastfeeding but i always made my intentions perfectly clear and wrote on the birth plan bit of my hand held notes that i had no intention to breastfeed and did not wish to discuss the matter. Midwives etc have no right to try and pressurise you, they will probably promote breastfeeding to you as it is part of their job but if you make it clear you intend to bottle feed they are obliged to offer you all the help and advice you need on formula,making bottles, sterilising etc, the only thing they cannot do is promote a particular brand of formula. I always used cow and gate. I wasnt bothered about which was 'closest to breastmilk' as I know all formulas have all my children needed to be happy and healthy which they both are (theyre 3 and almost 2 now so have been off formula for a long time). Although i do believe that Aptamil claims to be closest to breastmilk, although i could not tell you whether or not it really is! Good luck bottlefeeding is great. Some people will try and put you off by saying how time consuming sterilising etc its.Its not. After a few weeks i could make a bottle in seconds. Remember it is your choice,not anyone elses. Congratulations on your pregnancy btw xxx

Thank you so much for your reply. The more i think it through the more i want to bottlefeed. Although part of me feels bad as i think am i going to be depriving my baby of all the nutrients it needs etc but so many people bottlefeed these days it cant do them any harm. I just think personally breastfeeding seems quite time consuming as to start with you have to feed on demand which could be every 1-2 hours and express which sounds like a bit of an ordeal! Also i really want hubby to be involved with the feeding too. Also if anyone baby sits its alot easier to make up bottles rather than expressing for bottles. Also i get put off with deciding to breastfeed and it not working out for me and having to switch to bottlefeeding which sounds stressful! Not to mention the pain so many people go through when BF!!
Like you say Midwife etc should respect my decision and hopefully be there fore me to give me advice etc. Yes i have heard that Aptamil is the closest to breastmilk.
Just out of interest what did you spend on formula a week?
Thanks, am looking forward to the ups and downs throughout pregnancy and seeing the end result! So exciting! x

I used to through around a tub a week when one was a baby so then it was around 7/8 quid, not sure what the price is now. If you are on certain benefits or whatever you can get vouchers towards it, i didnt get them so not sure how you'd go about it if you were eligible. Not feel the need to keep justifying your choice though. Your child will not miss out on anything by being bottlefed. The majority of babies in this country are bottlefed. Formula has all the nutrients a baby needs. It obviously will not have the naturally occuring antibodies that breastmilk is said to have but most formula does have added antibodies now anyway so it is very unlikely to be signifigantly inferior to breastmilk. If you feel breastfeeding is not for you then there is no reason to feel guilty as formula is created by experts to meet the needs of baby. It is only getting better and is probably nutritionally better now than it was a couple of years ago when my 2 were on it. You really have nothing to worry about x